Croat qualifier Dino Prizmic delivered an inspired performance to stun fourth seed Ben Shelton, securing his biggest career win to reach the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time on Friday.
In a high-level three-hour, two-minute encounter, qualifier Dino Prizmic found his way through a 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victory over world No. 6 Ben Shelton, advancing to his maiden third round at the Masters 1000 level on Friday in Madrid.
In his on-court interview, the world No. 87 outlined: “Today was a very hard match for me, and I just tried to play my game, stay focused every point, and it definitely worked today.
"I’m working a lot with my team to stay calm on the important points, but he [Shelton] is No. 6 in the world… I was waiting for my chances, and I took them in the end.”
The resilient 20-year-old played his fourth match in as many days at the Mutua Madrid Open, showcasing a top level of tennis throughout an enthralling contest to record his first career Top 10 win on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.
Aggressive from the baseline while sharp on the return, the Croatian player stayed the course behind his serve - won 80 percent of the points on his first serve - to get the better of the 2026 Munich champion in a close duel.
Despite conceding the second-set tiebreak, Prizmic did not drop his level in a highly demanding match, physically and mentally, striking the ball cleanly off both wings in scintillating baseline exchanges.
Staying focused on his side of the net, he adjusted his game when needed, ultimately closing out the third-set tiebreak without having faced a break point all match.
As a result, the young player, who opened his main draw run with an upset over former Madrid finalist Matteo Berrettini, became the first Croatian man to earn a Top 10 win on clay since former world No. 3 Marin Cilic in 2022.
All in all, Prizmic hit 31 winners against 28 unforced errors compared to the No. 1 American racquet, 44 to 44, respectively.
Next, he will meet either the 25th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry or world No. 83 Sebastian Ofner.
At the time of writing, the Etcheverry led 5-3 in the first set.
Elsewhere, top seed Jannik Sinner was trailing by a set against French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi in his opening round at Caja Magica.